Into the Dark: Stone Sublimely Self-Righteous Ale
I picked this beer up with the idea it could be a great example of the new Cascadian Dark Ale, which is a Black Indian Pale Ale. Yeah, Pale and Black, well that’s Americans for you…we can do anything we want, screw the Reinheitsgebot.
To start this one is Black as night. If you hold it to the light you get a bit of amber color of out of the murky darkness, but I wouldn’t go in there without a flashlight. The aroma you get is a complex one. There is some chocolate coffee notes, grassy hops aroma, grapefruit bitterness…complex to say the least. All of that followed up just enough alcohol to keep you warm if it’s cold. The body has a nice balance that holds all of these flavors and aromas together quite nicely. The carbonation and the alcohol content hold the complex flavors of the beer together in pretty good harmony but I think the alcohol might have been a bit bold at the finish. That is Stone Brewing for you though so it works for them.
Since the Cascadian Dark Ale is such a new style (it’s not even listed on the BJCP site), we at ThirstEase are committing to trying as many of the commercial examples. I think we may even brew one up to see how the style comes together. We will keep you posted.
pro Beer quod Clementia!
Oregon Liquor Commission halts fun for Home Brewers
Another example of too much Government regulation rears it’s ugly head in the land of hops. The Oregon Liquor Commission ruled today to uphold a crap law that makes it illegal for home brewers and wine makers to transport their creations to a friends house. It also makes it illegal to have home brewing contests of any kind. Someone needs to wake up in Oregon and smack the right person into getting rid of this stupid law. Evidently the question came about when D Brewery requested permission to hold a home brewing contest, which just proves it is better to ask for forgiveness then ask for permission. If the law stands as is it could halt a microbrew competition scheduled Sept. 25-26 at the annual Harvest Fair at the Jackson County Fairgrounds and Exposition Park in Central Point. Here is the old statue and some links to other news sources you can read up on.
Oregon Revised Statute 471.403:
“No person shall brew, ferment, distill, blend or rectify any alcoholic liquor unless licensed so to do by the Oregon Liquor Control Commission. However, the Liquor Control Act does not apply to the making or keeping of naturally fermented wines and fruit juices or beer in the home, for home consumption and not for sale.”
Weyerbacher Hops Infusion
This is actually my first beer review, for as much beer as I drink you would think that this would be easy for me but to tell ya the truth I don’t know all that much about beer like the others rating beers do. I just know what I like, and don’t like and then a month later that usually completly changes. I grew up drinking nothing but Busch Light and Natural Light and until moving to Florida didn’t realize how many different beers are actually out there and that flavor exist! Right now my kick is IPA’s, I love them, but if you asked me to drink a IPA 3 months ago I hated them. I give it about another 2 weeks before I get tired of them as it changes about every month. So while I like them still, I am drinking as many different ones as I can.
This review is on Weyerbacher Hops Infusion. I got it at World of Beer. I was looking for a light beer that wouldn’t fill me up (sounds like a bud light commercial) so this is what the waitress brought me and surprisingly for having a deep orange color, it didn’t have much flavor. It definetly had a hint of orange in it and the head on it blew my mind. I have never seen a beer with so much head. To be honest I wasn’t all that impressed. I’m not saying I wouldn’t order it again, but if there were other beers to try I would go for one of them first with a little more flavor. After all, the flavor is what it’s all about isn’t it? I used to just drink to get fucked up and didn’t care what it was. Now that I have discoverd real beers, I get flavor and a buzz 
Brick House Tavern + Tap
About two months ago I was pulling out of Total Wine in Tampa with a two mix-six packs of delicious beer that I have or will review for this badass site you’re reading (thanks for reading, Mom!). As I pulled out I witnessed something attention grabbing… a sign that read “Brick House Coming Soon.” I was intrigued. My interest was peaked. So I made sure to google it when I got home. Sure enough a new bar was opening up and it was going to have a grand selection of beer (over 70 total). Holy shit. Sold.
Well about two weeks ago the Brick House opened and today my lady friend and I got to try it out.
Upon walking in, the decor is pretty cool. The place is open air around the bar, which is nice, and has tables, chairs, couches, and recliners as seating options. The recliners have tables and are by TVs which is great if you’re looking to watch a game.
The beer menu is pretty good. It has most of the normal beers (see: Bud, Coors, Miller, Corona) and they mix in some others like Magic Hat, Dogfish and Hop Devil by Victory Brewing. What sets this place apart from others is the apparatus from which you can drink. You have the option of “sissy” (16 oz) “MAN” (20 oz) 1/2 beer bong, beer bong or table side keg. I shit you not.You can get an actual table side keg, albeit you only have three choices and need six people to order it, but how awesome is that?!?! The full bong requires four people so we opted for the 1/2 bong of Magic Hat #9. Good price @ $13 a pop.
Our waitress thought it was a good idea to sit down and read the entire drink and food menu to us, and gave us her “playing card” which apparently all waitresses have. It speaks to things they like, their bday, etc. Odd, but OK, I can vibe with it. The menu reading I didn’t need and it was more annoying than informative. On to the important stuff….
We ordered blue and white chips, which had queso and blue cheese and were pretty damn good. We also got the bacon mac n cheese which was also tasty with a great smokey bacon flavor. We decided to split the “Fondue Mushroom Burger” and I’ll be honest, it sucked. It was so bland my palate was screaming for me to suck down the salt and pepper shakers. I mean, how does a burger have NO flavor? Burger King is fast food and those fucking things are pre made, yet somehow they have a taste that puts Brick House to shame. Needless to say we were disappointed.
All of that said (if you read all of this, you’re a damn saint) the Brick House is a pretty cool place. They have good appetizers and sides, attractive waitresses, competitive prices and novelty ways to drink beer. However if you’re looking for a good burger, there’s a BK right down the street.
Kona – Pipeline Porter
I am a long time reader, first time reviewer. Ever find yourself in one of those scenarios when you ask yourself; how the hell did I end up here? That was me last night when I met some friends at a hotel bar (Aloft Dulles Airport North) on a school night. Sparce, in that the eight of us made up a third of the crowd and a lesbian band (Mama’s Black Sheep) was playing in the background. Needless to say, I needed a drink.
Not expecting much when I went up to the bar, I was surprised to see a craft beer among all of the more common taps. Always up to sample something new, I ordered the Pipeline Porter from the Kona Brewing Company. It is dark and rich in color much like black coffee with medium body. Right off the bat you are hit with notes and flavor of chocolate that lead you into a nice coffee finish. A little sweet, but has a nice bitter balance. It is a seasonal beer that is available from September through March and is brewed with freshly roasted Kona coffee.
It was a decent dark beer that wasn’t heavy and went very well with my crab cakes. Being that we have been experiencing a triple digit heat wave, I didn’t mind putting a handful back where I normally would have stuck to a lighter beer.
BrewDog Paradox Isle of Arran
Brew Dog has cultivated a reputation of unrelenting strong ales that push limits and style conventions–but, they do so with a high degree of skill and quality. The Paradox series of ales (possibly all stouts) are apparently all barrel/cask-aged, but I am way behind on trying them all. I grabbed the Isle of Arran edition at Whole Foods as part of my series of stout reviews, for an imperial edition. Compared to the last couple of stouts I’ve reviewed, this one is high in alcohol taste and aroma, with vanilla-bean and whisky also leading in the aromatics. This engine-oil-black stout, with almost no carbonation, and more bark than bite in terms of flavor. Given the amount of alcohol in the aroma, I’m expecting a lot of hops to counter-act the alcohol, but this is mostly about showcasing the casks used. I taste a lot of black-strap rum, even whiskey flavors, that go beyond my beer-centric palate–folks who love whiskey and even cognac will rejoice at this beer in the rotation, if they have an open mind.
This is definitely an after-dinner, snifter style beer, to be savored on its own. This is a high quality stout and will impress those who have sampled the masses of stouts, and could please those who have tried lots of imperial stouts and are looking for more complexity.
Dragon Stout
I love stouts, and love searching for new ones. I read this was brewed and bottled by Red Stripe on the label, and frankly came in with somewhat low expectations. I was actually pleasantly surprised by this beer. It doesn’t have a very revealing aroma, at least not in the glass I poured it in. But the flavor is so smooth and sweet, without being overbearing at all, and the carbonation so delicate. It’s slightly chocolaty and almost has a hint of dark cherry and licorice. This is a pitch black beer with light body and a great balance of malt and alcohol–the 7.5% is almost non-existent in the flavor, as is the bitterness. Hop heads will want to avoid this stout, as there’s really no hop flavor or aroma to detect. I’d compare the taste to molasses, but the body is so light. Anybody who likes sweet stouts will definitely enjoy this one, as it is definitely sweet but without the milky lactose taste of a milk stout. I’d recommend pairing this stout with a fruity entree, such as sweet and sour Chinese food or balsamic-reduction glazed fish.